"He does not have the guarantee of a seat for next season"- Esteban Ocon cites Daniel Ricciardo's example to explain uncertainty in F1

F1 Grand Prix of Italy
Daniel Ricciardo of Australia and McLaren walks in the Paddock prior to the F1 Grand Prix (Image via Getty Images/Mark Thompson)

Daniel Ricciardo is without an F1 seat for the 2023 season. The Australian is currently driving for McLaren but has not had a good season with the team so far. Ricciardo has only had four top 10 finishes this season. He is inconsistent and does not yet understand how to bring the best out of his McLaren yet. In contrast, his teammate Lando Norris is 7th in the world championship with a podium finish at the 2022 F1 Emilia Romagna Grand Prix. He has finished only thrice outside the top 10 this season.

Esteban Ocon, in a recent interview with Motorsports.com, spoke about how the future of drivers in F1 is very uncertain. He said:

"I realized that there is nothing certain about Formula 1. Even if you have won, if you have stood up to a double world champion like Fernando, you are not sure that you have a guaranteed future. We have the example of Daniel (Ricciardo), two years ago he was in the group of top-drivers and today he does not have the guarantee of a seat for next season."

Daniel Ricciardo has 19 points and is currently 14th in the championship with six races to go. The Australian placed third in the championship in 2014 and 2016, driving for Red Bull. He was once among the top drivers vying for the championship but is now racing in midfield. F1 is a very uncertain sport indeed.

He can still return to Renault, for which he drove in 2019 and 2020. The French team, renamed Alpine in 2021, has a seat open for 2023 with Fernando Alonso leaving for Aston Martin and their academy. Reserve driver Oscar Piastri has also been signed by McLaren to replace Ricciardo.

However, Ricciardo's stint with the French team was not as successful as his fans wished it would have been, so the chances of a return are slim. He will be looking to score some decent points in the last six races to help McLaren finish fourth in the constructors' championship over Alpine.


Daniel Ricciardo historically strong at Singapore GP

Singapore is next on the F1 calendar and has historically been a good track for the Australian. Daniel Ricciardo has stood on the podium here four times, with three consecutive second place finishes in 2015, 2016, 2017 and a third-place finish in 2014.

Daniel Ricciardo hopes to put in a strong performance here and score some more points in what may be his final season in F1.

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Edited by Sabine Algur